The Trade Union Congress of Namibia is calling for a decent work framework for farm workers.
TUCNA's Secretary General, Mahongora Kavihuha, says the framework will promote good employee-employer relations and improve productivity in the agriculture sector.
The trade union, in conjunction with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, is hosting a workshop for farmer's associations from Zambezi, Kavango East, and Kavango West at Rundu.
Kavihuha says the initiative is aimed at ensuring that farmworkers enjoy all their rights, including social protection, job security, and the right to join trade unions, among others.
"Now we have observed that in the formal sector, the union has been very vocal in terms of ensuring that these components are observed, but if you come to the communal farmers, you see that there's a high turnover and there is also a high loss of animals due to poor workers or working environments that lead to the loss of animals or dying crops and those kinds of things."
He noted that communal farmers in particular are found wanting when it comes to observing the provisions of the Labor Act.
Kavihuha also condemned the use of migrant workers from Angola and Zambia as cheap labor, mostly in communal areas.
"Even if they move to Namibia for whatever reason, regardless of legality or illegality, they are human beings who need to enjoy basic labor rights, and that is our position, so even when they need to benefit from social security benefits, they should never be hindered or disadvantaged because they lack a national document."
FES Project Manager Silvia Mundjindi says child labor needs to be rooted out.
"Because within the communal agricultural sector you also find some children that are used as workers, and we are against child labor," she said.
The Kavango East Farmers Association Chairperson, Adolf Muremi, says there is a need to study the extent of migrant and child labor in communal areas.
"We really need someone to come in and do research and make sure, because, let's say, for example, we have like 500 small-scale commercial farms in Kavango East and West. Why don't they do research statistically so that we can have factual points?"
A board member of the Likwama Farmers Association, Mathews Mashinda, says Namibians, particularly in the Zambezi Region, are not keen to work as farm workers.
"Most of the people looking after our animals are also coming from Zambia because our Namibian people are refusing to do that work. Because of this, we are having a problem because, as my colleague said, at any time they can leave the job and go back to their country where they are coming from."
Mashinda says this makes it difficult to guarantee migrant workers' social protection.